The air was cut with the sound of a hundred whirring chopper blades, like some grotesque imitation of a swarm of hornets. Darius looked out the side of his Squad's King Raven. Below him was the city of Jacinto, swarming with activity. Civilians were indoors, banned from the streets, as the COG military prepared for it's first subterranean offensive against the Locust Horde. They called it Operation Landown. It would be a bloody fight, and Darius did not expect to return, but with its success, The Coalition of Ordered Governments, indeed humanity itself, would live on. Darius had invested too many years of his life in this ideal to let it be crushed under the Boots and Claws of the Locust. He expected the same sentiments of every man in his squad.

Darius did not know whether to be pleased or angered at being on the King Raven. Below him the Assault Derricks rolled out ponderously, carrying a precious cargo of elite cog soldiers, ready to ride their treacherous Grindlifts into the beating heart of the Locust Horde, The Hollow. Regrettably, or perhaps not, Gamma Squad would not be among them. One could be assured that the Assault Derricks would need cover, and after that the Locust would be sure to launch a counter-attack on Jacinto, Gamma Squad would see their share of Action in this fight, Darius was sure of it.

Chairman Prescott's speech blared from the King Raven's speakers, lifting the hearts of the men.

"Humans are no strangers to war. After all, we’ve been fighting for as long as we can remember. War is all we know. In the past, we fought for Imulsion. We fought for country. We fought for freedom. But all that changed after E-Day. For 15 years, we’ve been fighting for our very survival against inhuman, genocidal monsters. But it is a fight we cannot continue. Humanity faces extinction, unless we end this war now. We had hoped the Lightmass bombing would decimate the Locust Horde, but they survived…and have returned stronger than ever. They’ve brought with them a force that can sink entire cities. Even Jacinto, our last beacon of hope through all these dark days, is now at risk. Soon we’ll have nothing left to defend, and that means we have only one option…attack. Gears, what I ask of you now is not an easy thing, but it is necessary. If we are to survive…if we are to live long enough to see the seasons pass, our children grow, and experience a time of peace that we have never known…we must now take this fight to the Locust. We will go to where they live and where they breed…and we will destroy them! This is the day we take the battle to the heart of the enemy! This is the day that we correct the course of human history! This is the day we ensure our survival as a species! Soldiers of the COG, my fellow Gears, go forth and bring back the hope of humanity!"

The chairman's voice faded and Darius spoke up.
"You heard the man Gamma Squad." Darius said he looked each of his men in the face, they stared back with grim determination. "We may not be joining our boys down in that shithole, but we will sure-as-hell not be sitting on our asses up here while they do the ground-pounding. The locust are going to be pissed at an assault on their own turf, we're here to make sure they don't take their anger out too hard on Jacinto or its outlying areas. But all that comes later, our boys aren't even underground yet." Darius composed his thoughts, the mission was clear.

"The locust aren't going t let the us wander down into the Hollow like a sunday stroll, they are going to try and stop these Derricks however they can. That, gentlemen, is where we come in. We have confirmed sightings of Seeders along Tornak Ridge, set up specifically to counteract a line of Derricks moving through that area. It is only one of multiple routes the Derricks are taking to get to the Drill zone, but it is our jurisdiction. We drop in at the easternmost point of the ridge and move west. Intel says there at least three seeders interspersed by one kilometer stretches. We have to take them all out. Locust infnatry are to be enaged only if they impede our porgress, this is not a slaughter, this is a surgical strike. Our Derricks getting through are our top priority. Oh, and one more thing, no Hammer of Dawn on this one, it's needed elsewhere, seeders are going down with planted explosives."

Darius leant back in his chair, letting the words sink into his men.

We are fifteen minutes out from Tornak ridge, i need your heads in the game, all of you."




(OOC-Okay hope this is adequate, everyone post their character sitting in the chopper and what they are thinking etc. When all players are accounted for we will land and the mission will begin. Dismissed )